Coming in February 2017 to the Legion of Honor, Monet: The Early Years is the first exhibition ever devoted explicitly to the first phase in the career of French impressionist Claude Monet.

SFMOMA’s stunning new building isn’t just an add-on to accommodate the museum’s growing collection, but a total makeover that joins its renovated Mario Botta-designed home with a gleaming white, 10-story addition. You only need marvel over the structure’s sculpturally distinctive eastern façade to know it’s a place devoted to culture and that something special is going on inside.

Call it a gift from El Nino or just Mother Nature doing her annual thing, but springtime is returning to San Francisco in a big way.

One of the largest urban parks in the world, Golden Gate Park stretches for three miles on the western edge of San Francisco. There’s not a single “Keep Off the Grass” sign and its 1,017 acres are a tonic for mind and body. Two major museums, splendid gardens and facilities for more than 20 sports confirm that this is a playground in every sense of the word.